Analysis
Proprietary blends: how many supplement labels do not disclose their amounts
34,198 of the 116,682 products in the NIH label database (29%) list at least one ingredient inside a proprietary blend whose own amount is not disclosed, and 2,746 disclose no amount for any ingredient (DSLD version 9.4.0, January 2026). By DSLD product type, blends are most common in "Other Combinations": 46% of those products.
Published by PlainVitamins on ; written with AI tools under the editorial policy, every figure computed from the label database.
Which kinds of product use blends most?
Share of products with an undisclosed amount, by DSLD product type
Products by their current label.
| Product type | Products | With an undisclosed amount | No amount at all |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other Combinations | 42,266 | 46% | under 1% |
| Botanical with Nutrients | 6,775 | 36% | under 1% |
| Botanical | 31,545 | 25% | 5% |
| Non-Nutrient/Non-Botanical | 12,656 | 20% | 6% |
| Fat/Fatty Acid | 4,195 | 20% | under 1% |
| Amino acid/Protein | 4,767 | 20% | under 1% |
| Fiber and Other Nutrients | 836 | 8% | under 1% |
| Multi-Vitamin and Mineral (MVM) | 1,829 | 8% | under 1% |
| Mineral | 4,000 | 3% | under 1% |
| Vitamin | 6,648 | 1% | under 1% |
| Single Vitamin and Mineral | 1,165 | under 1% | under 1% |
Which brands use blends most and least?
Among the 220 brands with 100 products or more in the database.
| Brand | Products | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Flower Essence Services | 210 | 100% |
| Guang Ci Tang | 120 | 100% |
| Plum Flower | 297 | 98% |
| Herbs Etc. | 163 | 95% |
| Wise Woman Herbals | 228 | 94% |
| North American Herb & Spice | 134 | 93% |
| Ancient Nutrition | 192 | 92% |
| Irwin Naturals | 128 | 91% |
| MM Sports Nutrition | 111 | 87% |
| Ormus Minerals | 129 | 86% |
| Brand | Products | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Earthborn Elements | 170 | 0% |
| Nootropics Depot | 246 | under 1% |
| BulkSupplements.com | 1,198 | 1% |
| PureBulk.com | 119 | 2% |
| Swanson Premium Brand | 544 | 2% |
| Simply Supplements | 142 | 2% |
| Swanson Superior Herbs | 118 | 3% |
| Cardiovascular Research | 110 | 3% |
| Signature Supplements | 107 | 3% |
| Good State | 107 | 3% |
Source: NIH ODS Dietary Supplement Label Database version 9.4.0, current labels. Download the data (CSV).
How this was measured
A label row counts as undisclosed when DSLD records it without a quantity inside a blend (the label gives only the blend's total). Products are counted once, by their current label; the brand table covers brands with 100 products or more.
Limits
FDA rules allow a blend to give only its total weight, with ingredients in descending order; an undisclosed amount is lawful and says nothing about quality. DSLD transcribes labels; a transcription that omits an amount the label prints would count here. Published counts from the same database (for example Saldanha and others, "Perspectives on the Use of Proprietary Blends in Dietary Supplements", Journal of Nutrition, 2023, doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.03.035) count labels rather than products and read other releases, so their shares differ from this one.
Sources
The data
One row per DSLD product type: products, share with a blend that does not disclose amounts, share with no amount at all. Download the CSV. How the labels are grouped and read: methodology.
Other analyses
- Supplement labels above the adult upper limit, nutrient by nutrientWhich nutrients most often pass the adult Tolerable Upper Intake Level at the most servings a label allows, and on which products.
- How supplement amounts compare with the Daily ValueFor each nutrient with an FDA Daily Value: the amount the typical product lists per serving, and how many products give five times the DV or more.
- Vitamin D amounts on supplement labels, by yearHow the amount of vitamin D per serving has moved on labels entered into the NIH database each year since 2011.
- Which forms of magnesium, B12, folate and other nutrients supplements useOxide or glycinate, cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin: how many products list each form of twelve nutrients, and at what amounts.
- Gummies, tablets, capsules: how amounts differ by physical formThe median amount per serving of ten common nutrients in gummies, tablets, capsules, softgels, liquids and powders.
- One formula, many brand names: identical supplement labelsFormulas that appear with the same ingredients in the same amounts under several brand names in the label database: identical label formulas, which do not by themselves show a common maker.